Car-coupling.



W. F. RICHARDS.

GAR GOUPLING.

APPLmATloN MLED PEB 27.1911,

Patented. Dec. 30, 1913 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1,

Wfl,

a/www4 W. RGHARDS.

UAR OOUPLING. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27, 1911,

V Patented Dee. 30, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

3 I 71 W02 Za:

Znesssz Fig. 5

U'Niiran STATES,

PATENT ernten.

WILILABD r.. mcHaDs,

or DEPEW, Newl YORK, .essre'Non 'ro conm) 'courmacoMrANY, Aor NEW rome N. Y.

clin-Connemara.

T0 all UYLOm/. 'Conce/rn?. I Beit known that I, WILLAR'D F. RICH os',

a citizen of -the United States, residingatv Depew, in the county of Erie and State of NewYork, have `invented a new end usetul Improvement in Car-Couplers, 0f which the following is a specification:

This invention relates n'. to railway car couplers of the Master Car Builders type in which a vertically-movable lock is employed for the horizontally-swinging knuckle.

vThe objects of' the inventionare to pro-z.

duce a strong, dura-blc and thoroughly serriceable and practical car co-pler which will 1"...lilv the demands of the railways, which complies with all ofthe requirements of the Master Car Builders Association, is of simple construction, and. can be. manufactired lectn'i`cmically and with the minimum amount of labor; also to provide al coupler with a vertically-movablelock capable of eing operated bythe ordinary top operat 'ing devices located above thecoupler and View` showing thejlock lifted and the knuckleV released. Fig. 3 is atransverse sectional elevation thereof iu line 3 3, Fig. 4 showing the coupler in lock set position. Fig. 4. is a sectional plan thereof in line 4 4, Fig. 3. is alongitudinal sectional elevation thereof, on a reduced scale, showing' the lo'ck provided 'with a link for operating it from above.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the several igures. A represents the'coupler head, B the horiu zontlally-swinging knuckle, and C the knuckle lock. 'l`he knuckle, as usual, is plvloted at one side of' the head and is provided ywith a tail I)v Y.which extends' roami-'ardly into the head and preierably'has a tail-extension b which projects laterally througha hole b-2 in the adjacent side wall-of the head when e particularly' Specification-of Letters Patent. Pater: t'elDe, 36,13155, lpplication tiled-February 27, 1911. Serial No.'611',025. A 4 i the knuckle is A"closed.. lreferably the lock out of locking position between the inner end of the knuckle tail and the sidewall c of substantially cube-shape and a'vertical guide stem c `which projects downwardly from the body through' ahole c2 in the bottom of the head. Vertical guide ribs @3 .and c* are provided on the upper portions of the front and rear walls respectively of the head', form a guide pocket oricavity'for the lock in the upper portion of the head. When the upper portion of the lock body extends up into this guide pocket, Yas shown in. Fig. V1,' so that- 'the pocket cooperateswith .the guide stem c to retain the lock in an upright position and guide it vertically. The stem thread which isserewedinto a threaded socket in the lock body, and with a head o of square or other shape adapted to bef'engaged by a suitable tool for 'screwing the stem into'the lock body. The lock body is inserted into the coupler head throurh the 'knuckle opening" in the front wall thereof a hole (l in the top of the head and screwed into the lock body by the tool,4 which also inserted through the hole d. I

As the lock bod);v4 hears directly against the front-and side walls of the coupler head ,oppositc to, the point. at which the knuckle tail 4engagesthe lock, the guido stein c is 'relieved from the draft strains on the knuckle, so that a Aslender Stem can be used and consequently the hole 02 in the bottom of the head does not have to be made large enough to appreciably weaken the head.

use of a small-hole (Z in the top of the head, and as the lock does notextend into the hole al inthe top of the head it will not bind or stick and work hard in the event that the top of the coupler head is distorted out. of its original shape or position by the severe shocks -and blows to which the coupler is subjected 1n serv1ce,asm1ght happen with a of the head, and consists of a block or bodyv --'the lock is in its lower, or locking, position,

The described construction also permitst1 i.

C is arranged in' therea'r central' portion of', the coupler head to slide vertically intov and head, and these ribs, together with the frontf 1 .id rear walls and the side wall c of the' .niv

c is made 4separate from the lock bod'yvand'f' is detachably securedthereto in any suitable way, for-instance, as shown in Figs. L3, the stem ismade with an intgral tapered, 'round and the guidestem is then inserted through los fsa

lock having parts extending through holes in the top and bottomofthehead.

The holo d in the top of the head 1s -pre erably closed by a suitable coverv or' plug D which can be removably secured .inthe n hole in any usual or suitable way.

' A bottom .operatmgattachment fer-the lock is removabl secured on the coupler head. This" attac ment, -in the construction'v shown, comprises a bearing bracket E which is detachabl secured to and depends from the undersi e. of the head, and a lever F which is pivoted on the bracket'with its free end. arranged beneath and adapted to cngage the projecting lower end of the stem c for lifting the lock. The free end of the lever has a cam face which engagesA the ylower end of the loc'k'stem. The coupler head is preferably provided with a holding. socket for the bearing bracket E formed by` two parallel flanges e'whichdepend from the undersideof the head at -opposite, sides terlocked with thehooked ug a', and is secured by a bolt'orpin e2' passing through registering holes in the'iianges c and the bracket. The bracket is thus rigidly and securely attached to the'coupler by means o'f ."a single bolt and cantherefore be quickly and easily securedito and 'removed from the' coupler together with the? opeatingrlever carried thereby'. -The bracket has l'iarallel4 .spaced legs between which the lock-operan' ing lever F is located, and the'lever has a.

cross shaft f formed integrally-.therewithwhich is journaled in' bearing holes formed in the ends of said legs. The lever shaft-f isprovided at its .ends with'eyes fffineither of which a horizontal operating rod or 'sha-ft# f2, which extends `to the side of the car, is adapted to be hooked.

lf3 represents stop lugs on the sides ofthe. 'legs of the bracket E, adapted to gbefengaged by the eyes f of the lever shaft for limiting the'downward swing of theLOuter 'end of the lever F. l *"3 lll/'hen it is desired to use the'c'oupl device which is located above the coupler,

the bottoni-attachment, consisting oi". the

bracket E and the connected lever. F, -iskletalched from the coupler. The covcrD"for the hole al in the top of thecoupler head is also removed and the guide stem c is preferably disconnected from the lock body and is replaced by another guide stem (lr,

shown in Fig. 5, `which has a lifting link g connected' to its upper end. This link exe` tends up through the hole .Il in the top of the head and is adapted to be zonnectd in any usual or suitable way to the operating shaft or device located above the coupler. If desired, a lock stem can be usedhav1ng v means at its top, such as the eye on the stem G,'to which the lifting link can be connected As it lis only necessary to remove one bolt to detach the bottom operating attachment, the coupler can be quickly andA easily converted into a top-operated coupler, and when so changed there is no projecting bracket or part left on the bottom of the coupler. head.

The couplerV is preferably provided, as "shown, with a lock-set or device for holding :and also with a knuckle-opening device aetuated bythe lock. y

H A i represents the lock-set, which, as

the lowerendof the lock body. When the "lock is lifted tounlock the knuckle, the lock` set will'swing by gravity into'the position shown in Fig. 3., in which Aone end thereof projects-'intoehole, 71. inthe side wall c of theh`ead and rests -on' the lower edge of the knuckletoi-be' swung ofpen,r When the knuckle isV swung open its tail will strike the lower "cam-shaped of the lock-set,- which depends 'below .t e body of the lock, thus disengagig the2lockset-fron1 the hole h and permittingthe' lock to rest on the mil of the knuckle. The tail-'extension of the knuckle lies beneath'and supports. the lock when 'the knuckle is fully-opened. When the knuckle is again closed Athe tail is moved from beneath vthe l'ck and the lckwill dro Aby gravity between thetail and the side wall la of the head' and YlockV the knuckle. if

-I vrepresents.theknuckleeopening lever. Preferably'en an'glelevaver isLemployed which ,is'lpivotetl between its ends on a pm z iii the upper portion of the cquplerhead' at one side of vthelock. .Oneerm 13 of thelever side of, the knuclitletail,` and the other arm 2 of the lever extends laterally with its-end .aboveand in osition to be Astruck a lug orpartbs onte'lock. If-th'e loekismo'v'ed car equipped with an operating shaft or to the limit of its upward,mov'omentgwhen` lever I on 'its pivot, which will throw the knuckle open. The pivot pin 'i-for' the into the hub o the lever through the bearcoupler 'head and does not requineany securing device.

Lock-set and 'knuckle-opening devices of other constructions icou'ldvbe employed.'

I claim as my invention."

l. ln a car coupler, the combination with a couplerihead provided with a hole in its without removing the stem from the lock.

the lock in the'knuckle releasing position, '80

shown,is pivoted near one end ina slot in Jholef-'thieby'holding the lock up above the knuckltail- 4in 'position to permit the ,the coupler is not connectin 'with another coupler, the lug i will strike and swing the' 120 knuckle-openin lever is preferably driven inghole z" for the pin in the rear wall of the Y bottom, and a horizontally f swinging knuckle, of a lock for the knuckle provided with a stem which projects downwardly through said hole, and a bottoni-operating attachment for the lock comprising a bean ing bracket and a movable operating device which mounted on said bracket a'nd.is adapted to .more said lock stem to lift the lock out of locking position, a part on the bottom of the hea d adapted to interlock With said bracket, and means for securing said bracket to said part, said bracket being detachable with said operating device from thc coupler head, substantially as set forth.

f2. In a car coupler, the combination of a coupler head provided with a hole in its bot-- tom and with bracket securing moans on its underside, a horizontally-swinging knuckle, a lock for the knuckle provided with a stem which projects downwardly through said hole, a bottom-operatingattachment for the lock con'iprising a bearing' bracket which detachab interlocks with said securing; means on the under side of the coupler head, a lever which is mounted on said bracket and is adapted to engage said lock stem for lifting said lock out of locking position, and a fas- JLening device for detachably fastening said bracket to said securing means, substantially as set forth. l

3. ln a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head provided with a hole in its bottom and with part-s on its bottom for the interlocking engagement of a bracket, a horizontally-swinging knuckle, a verticallymovable lock for the knuckle provided 'with a guide stem which projects downwardly through said hole, guiding' means in the coupler head which coperatewith said guide stem to hold .said lock in an upright position and guide it .vertically, and a bottom-operating attachment for the lock comprising a bearing bracket which is detachably secured to said parts on the coupler head, and a lever which is pivoted on and removable With said bracket and is adapted to engage said lock stem for lifting` the lock out of locking position, substantially as set forth.

Witness my hand, this 22nd day of Feb ruary, 1911.

WILLi/XRD l?. RICHARDS. Witnesses:

C. VJ. PARKER, A. L. lloGEn. 

